The Moroccan bloggers paid their tribute to the woman who is, Today, celebrated all over the world. They also discussed sensitive issues like being gay in a conservative environment. Samir blogged about Rif, where two-thirds of farmers grow cannabis, while IBAHRINE stressed the revolutionary role of the internet in the Arab world.

Woman..we love you!

Larbi has a very personal way of celebrating the international women's day. He's asking the readers of his blog to write about women bloggers they find special (French). And based on the big number of comments his post received, I can say that the Moroccan woman who blogs is highly appreciated!!

Lemrina is starting an e-debat about the homosexuality in Morocco(French). Her blog received more than fifty comments, most of them reflecting the willing of their writers to discuss “being gay in Morocco” and go beyond taboos.

Anima met Samira, a Moroccan lesbian and had an interesting discussion with her. She blogs about the story of this girl raped by her own brother (Arabic) when she was only 6 years old.Fight hashish to..starve?

Samir is still traveling in Australia, but he couldn't t help noticing a story about the anti-Cannabis drive in Morocco. Samir says that if Morocco's drive to stamp out cannabis cultivation has won praise abroad, farmers in the world's top hashish producer say they face destitution without more help to find alternative incomes.

In Al Koulla and other villages, people live in homes built of mud and travel by donkey along bone-shaking roads. Many houses are without electricity, running water or toilets and food supplies are often threatened by drought.

By the way, Samir announces that The View From Fes will be back at full speed by Friday. Good news!

Authoritarian and sectarian and tribalist notions are easier to explain than liberal ones, and it is inherently harder to build trust in mercurial markets and flowing democratic coalitions than in charismatic leaders, visionary clerics, and esteemed elders. The liberal world's intellectual underpinnings are as difficult to grasp as its cultural reach is difficult to escape. Thus the disjunction within which Baathism, Islamism, and Arab tribalism have festered.

Coup de coeur

I want to introduce you to a blog I'm discovering. The author is Abdessamad Bencherif, journalist “star” in the Moroccan television channel 2M. The blog called The world of Abdessamad Bencherif is in Arabic and its posts are updated news about Moroccan issues such as the illegal immigration to Europe or the conflict with Polisario.